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Pope: Sport a journey of authentic human development

17/12/2012

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(Vatican Radio) This summer the Italian Olympic and Paralympic teams competed at the
London 2012 games bringing back a significant medal haul. Team Italy won 28 Olympic
medals including 8 Gold and 28 Paralympic medals of which 9 were Gold. On Monday in
the Clementine Hall in the Vatican, Pope Benedict paid tribute to this sporting excellence
when he received in audience the delegation of the Italian Olympic Committee.

The
Pope expressed his understanding of the harsh discipline and preparation needed to
get to Olympic level.

The Holy Father also highlighted the fact that every
sport both amateur and competitive, requires fairness in competition, respect for
the body, and a sense of solidarity.

Sport, he said, is important because it
reveals man to himself and gives him a profound understanding of the value of his
life.

Speaking to those present, Pope Benedict said that sport’s managers,
as well as coaches, and sports operators in general, are called to be witnesses of
the good of humanity, cooperating with families and educational institutions for the
education of young people, in order to achieve the best in sport.

The Pope
also noted that the pressure to achieve significant results must never push sports
people to take shortcuts as in the case of doping. Team spirit, he said is an incentive
to avoid these dead ends, but also to support those who acknowledge a mistake.

In
conclusion, the Holy Father emphasized that in this Year of Faith sport can educate
a person to 'spiritual "competitiveness" . It can also be considered, he added, a
modern "Court of the Gentiles," that is, a valuable opportunity to meet believers
and non-believers, to experience joy and to encounter people of different cultures,
languages ​​and religions. Listen to Lydia O'Kane's report